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At last it seems that the popularity with cost controls, efficiency and outcomes measurement is fueling a transformative process within the generally intelligent conversation within philanthropic circles: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts–especially when that whole includes shared agendas and resources among big social sector players. Let us explain…

Philanthropy seems to be coming of age as the movements of technological change, knowledge management and philanthropy’s focus on impact and outcomes come together to make never before imaginable things plausible and maybe even possible. Philanthropy is considering interesting new ways of seeing social problems and conjuring up new relationships and constructs to build a new conversation that speaks big solutions for big problems.

The Policy ThinkShop calls your attention to this important series being offered by the Stanford Social Innovation Review …

“No question vexes the social sector more than how to make the leap from incremental progress to actually solving social problems. Stanford Social Innovation Review, in collaboration with The Bridgespan Group, has created this eight-week blog series to explore pathways that social sector leaders around the world are pursuing to take solutions that work to a scale that truly transforms society. We hope you’ll join the conversation.”

According to Pew foundation research, technology is changing how we relate to one another. Gadgets and communication tools are so prevalent in our everyday lives that the impact is bound to be pervasive and profound. But what will this impact be? And how do you feel about it? Are you aware of how technology is changing how you communication to people in your life? Is it improving your overall quality of life or is it becoming a hindrance? You decide…

“The internet, cell phones and social media have become key actors in the lives of many American couples. Technology is a source of support and communication as well as tension, and couples say it has both good and bad impacts on their relationships.”

According to the Pew study:

The overall impact of technology on long term relationships

10% of internet users who are married or partnered say that the internet has had a “major impact” on their relationship, and 17% say that it has had a “minor impact.” Fully 72% of married or committed online adults said the internet has “no real impact at all” on their partnership.

74% of the adult internet users who report that the internet had an impact on their marriage or partnership say the impact was positive. Still, 20% said the impact was mostly negative, and 4% said it was both good and bad.

Tech as a source of support and communication

25% of married or partnered adults who text have texted their partner when they were both home together.

21% of cell owners or internet users in a committed relationship have felt closer to their spouse or partner because of exchanges they had online or via text message.

9% have resolved an argument with their partner online or by text message that they were having difficulty resolving in person.

Tech as a source of tension

25% of cell phone owners in a marriage or partnership have felt their spouse or partner was distracted by their cell phone when they were together.

8% of internet users in a committed relationship have had an argument with their spouse or partner about the amount of time one of them was spending online.

4% of internet users in a committed relationship have gotten upset at something that they found out their spouse or partner was doing online.

According to Mashable, a leading technology blog, the biggest winners were not on the field at the Superbowl and neither were the biggest players…

“Of course you don’t. Because Apple didn’t run one. According to rumors, Apple was supposed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Mac — but instead, longtime nemesis Microsoft took center stage with its first national minute-long Super Bowl spot, one that was both memorable and touching. It was a somewhat rare win for Microsoft — along with a commanding win for Paul Allen, Microsoft cofounder and Seahawks owner.”

The Pew Foundation has an impressive network of websites promoting socially relevant and timely research that looks at emerging social trends and challenges in the areas of technology, social media, religion, politics, and others… The most recent issue addressing internet use, one of the main areas that Pew supports, includes a survey on internet use. The survey is important because we know, for obvious reasons, much about people using the internet but not so much about those absent from cyberspace. The report gives us interesting data and analysis on the nearly fifth of persons 18 years or older who by choice or constraint are not going online. This trend is interesting given the current explosion of handheld devises that make the internet ubiquitous and internet able gadgets an increasingly unavoidable necessity.

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The full report is being provide here by The Policy ThinkShop. Enjoy: http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_Offline%20adults_092513_PDF.pdf

“As of May 2013, 15% of American adults ages 18 and older do not use the internet or email.

Asked why they do not use the internet:

34% of non-internet users think the internet is just not relevant to them, saying they are not interested, do not want to use it, or have no need for it.

32% of non-internet users cite reasons tied to their sense that the internet is not very easy to use. These non-users say it is difficult or frustrating to go online, they are physically unable, or they are worried about other issues such as spam, spyware, and hackers. This figure is considerably higher than in earlier surveys.

19% of non-internet users cite the expense of owning a computer or paying for an internet connection.

7% of non-users cited a physical lack of availability or access to the internet.

Even among the 85% of adults who do go online, experiences connecting to the internet may vary widely. For instance, even though 76% of adults use the internet at home, 9% of adults use the internet but lack home access. These internet users cite many reasons for not having internet connections at home, most often relating to issues of affordability—some 42% mention financial issues such as not having a computer, or having a cheaper option outside the home.”

Information is to behavior as technology is to understanding. Let me clarify. Technology is increasingly making it more “mobile” and convenient to obtain, process and include health related information in our daily activities and decision making. In fact, physicians and patients are likely to increasingly benefit from recent advances in more mobile and popular forms of social media tools–such as Apps–in their need to manage health related information as providers of care and consumers, respectively. Take for example Apps and search engines. These two increasingly popular and used tools for accessing and managing health information are increasingly impacting a physician’s ability to learn and deicide and a patient’s ability to “get a second opinion” or increase their health literacy as they are more able to ask question and get immediate answers from numerous sources without having to rely on the often limited patient doctor relationship. The Pew foundation does a nice job of keeping us up to date on how the internet is changing every aspect of our lives–including healthcare.

“Susannah Fox will deliver a keynote address to a symposium hosted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. She will discuss the Pew Research Center’s latest findings related to technology adoption and use in both the U.S. and abroad, with a particular focus on the social impact of the internet on health and health care.”

Communication and information have been important drivers of civil society, as groups, individuals and even nation states are able to use what they know and what they share with others to improve important aspects of social relationships in areas like public relations, collaboration, mutual understanding, trust building and the ability of individuals to express and assert their social needs and civil rights. As more and more information is being collected on all aspects of our daily lives and that information is accessed by third parties for purposes not necessarily related to the initial rationale for which the information was gathered in the first place, issues arise regarding the use of that information and how that use impacts an individual’s freedoms and rights; such as:

Privacy

Ownership of personal information

Access to information

Ability to explain and defend ones rights or needs with your own information that reflects your ability to determine and express yourself.

Information that is collected on us increasingly impacts our health, privacy, political freedom and economic opportunities as various parties know more about us than we often know about ourselves and/or interpret information about us that is collected, understood and explained by others.

Our optimism regarding technological progress in the area of information technology, knowledge management and the social narrative others have about our identity is increasingly being questioned. The NYTs has a provocative article on how information impacts the educational system which is so often decisive in the lives of our children, friends and family members.

“WHEN Cynthia Stevenson, the superintendent of Jefferson County, Colo., public schools, heard about a data repository called inBloom, she thought it sounded like a technological fix for one of her bigger headaches. Over the years, the Jeffco school system, as it is known, which lies west of Denver, had invested in a couple of dozen student data systems, many of which were …”

Wires, T1 lines and hardware have been replaced by “the cloud.” Information management capacity has once again been made faster, cheaper and perhaps more reliable, but we still have other “human variables” and intangibles that make communicating across organizations and teams difficult. When will we learn to keep up with technological change with commensurate “cultural changes” in the ways we process information and share it?

“One location, for a growing business, is typically not enough. With enough personnel and capital, many businesses prefer to set up multiple offices to attract different regions of customers.

With separate offices how can your business install a network so all the locations can work, communicate, and share information easily, instantaneously, and …”

In seemingly endless times of “trash talk” that led to an improbable and unpopular political victory, the newly minted president clamors: “Now arrives the hour of action.” Fleeting relief comes to the nation as the transition […]

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